More than 60 Palestinian women have embarked on a hunger strike to demand the unconditional release of the body of Awdah Hathaleen, a 31-year-old community leader and English teacher who was shot dead by an Israeli settler in the village of Umm al-Kheir, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. Hathaleen was a consultant for the documentary film “No Other Land,” which won an Oscar award this year. The collective action, which started on Thursday, has already resulted in two women receiving medical treatment.
The protesters are demanding the release of Hathaleen’s body, which has been withheld by Israeli authorities since his death on July 28. The police have set restrictive conditions for the funeral and burial, including holding a quick and quiet ceremony at night outside the village, with no more than 15 people in attendance. However, the family has rejected these conditions, insisting on a proper Islamic burial. “We will continue this until they release the body, so that we can honour him with the right Islamic tradition,” said Iman Hathaleen, Awdah’s cousin, who is participating in the hunger strike. “We have to grieve him as our religion told us to.”
Iman, who is breastfeeding and starving herself in protest, emphasized the importance of honoring her cousin’s memory according to Islamic tradition. The hunger strikers are also demanding the release of seven Umm al-Kheir residents who were arrested by Israeli forces and remain in administrative detention, a quasi-judicial process under which Palestinians are held without charge or trial.
Fathi Nimer, a researcher at the Al-Shabaka think tank, said Israel’s policy of withholding the bodies of Palestinians is a common practice aimed at breaking the spirit of resistance. “This is not an isolated incident; there are hundreds of Palestinians whose bodies are used as bargaining chips so that their families stop any kind of activism or resistance or to break the spirit of resistance,” Nimer told newsmen. “Awdah was very loved in the village, so this is a tactic to break their spirit.”
Meanwhile, Yinon Levi, the Israeli settler accused of firing the deadly shots, was released after spending a few days on house arrest. A video of the incident shows Levi opening fire on Hathaleen, who died from a gunshot wound to his chest. Residents in Umm al-Kheir documented Levi’s return to the area, where he was seen overseeing bulldozing work alongside army officers at the nearby Carmel settlement.
The killing of Hathaleen has sparked widespread condemnation, with Amnesty International describing it as a “cold-blooded” act. The organization has called for an independent international investigation into the incident and the broader issue of settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s director for research and advocacy, criticized Israeli authorities for their “deliberate failure” to investigate settler attacks, highlighting the systemic impunity that enables such violence.
The United Nations office has reported 757 settler attacks on Palestinians since January, a 13% increase from 2024. The Israeli army has also intensified raids across the occupied West Bank, resulting in the demolition of hundreds of homes. In occupied East Jerusalem, the Israeli municipality has issued a demolition order targeting the home of Palestinian residents in Silwan. Palestinian authorities say 198 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank since the beginning of the year, while 538 were killed in 2024. At least 188 bodies are still being withheld by Israeli authorities.
Oneg Ben Dror, a Jaffa-based activist and friend of the Hathaleen family, described the hunger strike as a desperate gesture for a community that has lost all hope of obtaining justice via legal means. “The women feel that it’s their way to protest, it’s a last resort to bring back the body,” she said. “The community needs the possibility to mourn and… start the recovery from this horrible murder.” The presence of Levi and other settlers in Umm al-Kheir is a “continuous trauma and a nightmare for the community and for his wife,” who has been widowed while caring for three young children.